The Weeks of October 18th - October 31st

The triathlon team traveled cross the country this past weekend to compete in the SOMA Half-Ironman in Tempe, AZ. The race consisted of a 1.2 mile swim, 56.2 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run. The conditions were rough with the desert heat and sun playing a factor in a hard fought battle for the whole team. The adverse conditions did not seem to slow anybody down on the race course with almost the whole team clocking personal best times. The team captain Nick Vandam (D-3, 09’)continued his hot streak with a 6th place finish in a very competitive professional field of an Olympian, Ironman champions, a various decorated pro triathletes. He finished in a blazing fast time of 3:59.22. This was one of many successful races over the weekend. Randy Wintermantel (D-3, 09’)clocked a 4:42.04 which placed her 3rd in the Amateur division out of over 2000 athletes. She had one of the fastest run times with a 1:30.22, this time beat many of the males. Bryan Lagasse (G-4, 10’) had the race of his life with a time of 4:19.34 which place him 8th in the amateur division. Not far behind him were Brendan Fox (E-3, 11’), Ryan Peacock (A-4, 09’), and Will Eggers (A-3, 09’). Overall the men had 5 athletes place in the top 50 of one of the premier Half-Ironman races of the western part of the United States. On the women’s side they also dominated with Keri Vahle (A-3, 09’) and Christina Fenstermaker (A-1, 09’) placing in the top 50 for females. I would also like to congratulate Brittany Fraser (B-4, 11’) and Keri Vahle in completeing their first Half-Ironman.

Along with racing the team also had an amazing opportunity to do a question and answer with Tim DeBoom (2 x Ironman World Champ) and his wife Nicole DeBoom (Ironman Champion). This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the team. To be able to learn from arguably the best American triathlete and one of the best triathletes of all time was a humbling experience. The race was a great showing of the teams talent level, and it shows to the collegiate triathlon world that our team is going to be dangerous in April at nationals.

The Weeks of September 29th - October 17th

The Triathlon team traveled to Montauk, NY, to compete in the Northeast Triathlon Collegiate Conference Championships over the past weekend. The race was a 750m swim, 17k bike, and a 5k run. Our team dominated the race this year by our men taking 6 out of the top 10 spots and our women taking 2 out of the top 3 women spots. Team captain Nicholas Vandam, D3, 09’ broke his own course record by 2 minutes and 40 seconds in a time of 52:24. Cadet Vandam won the conference championships along with winning the conference point series. In second place was Nicholas Sterghos, C1,09’ and in 4th place was Robert Sherry, D1, 10’. Randy Wintermantel, D3, 09’ took second place in the women’s race and Keri Vahle, A3, 09’ took third place. The competition established the West Point Triathlon team as the dominant force in the Northeast triathlon world. Our next race is the SOMA Half-Ironman in Tempe, AZ on Oct 26th, in which the team will test their strength and endurance against triathletes in the Southwest.

The Week of: September 15 - September 21

The Triathlon Team traveled to Rye, NY for the “premier race in the Northeast” the cadets competed against over a 1,000 athletes and dominated the competition. First, on the woman’s side, Ashley Morgan (G4) led the team once again with a 4th place finish in the overall amateur women’s division. A member of the Cross Country Team as well, Ashley’s strong finishing run carried her to the finish in style. Randall Wintermantel (D3) won the women’s 20-24 y/o age groups, and Kari Vahle (A3) took bronze in that category. Next, for the men, Rob Sherry (D1) won the overall amateur title. In the words of Coach Tony Deboom, this was Rob’s “first big win!” Rob stayed steady throughout the race and was strong on the run to fend off closing competitors. One of those was Cadet Brendan Fox (E3), who in the best race of his career to date, used his lightning-fast kick to outsprint teammate Lagasse (F4), and finish 3rd overall in the amateur division. Lagasse finished a very strong 4th overall. Additionally, the top three spots in the 20-24 age groups were secured by cadets, including Andy Stock (1st) (G2), Will Eggers (2nd) (A3) and Ryan Peacock (3rd) (A4). Finally, two of the three new plebes on the team made the podium in the 18-19 age groups, with Mark Freeman 2nd and John Dimenna 3rd. These were great performances by the plebes, who continue to show improvement as they learn about their sport, and what is required to excel. The Triathlon Team looks next to the Mighty Man Triathlon in Montauk, NY on 4-5 October. The team looks to sweep many of the top 10 along with racing across the river the triathlon team sent 2 athletes across the nation to Oregon.

The Captain of the Triathlon team, Cadet Nicholas Vandam (D3), traveled to Portland, Oregon to compete in the Elite/U23 National Championships. This race was unique because it was legal to draft on the bike portion, which is very different from the normal non-drafting rule in place for amateur racing. The draft-legal format is only raced by professional and is used at the Olympic Games. The field of athletes was made up of 42 of the best professional triathletes in the nation. There were athletes competing who had been Olympians in Athens and Beijing, World Champions, and National team members. Despite being the youngest athlete in the race Cadet Vandam took an amazing 3rd place in the Under-23 National Championships. Along with Nick Vandam, Cadet Nicholas Stergho(C-1) competed in the Age Group National Championships, which took place earlier in the day. Having one of the best races of his career Cadet Sterghos dominated the field on every discipline and took 7th in the 20-24 Age groups (arguably the fastest Age Group).